In Desperation by Rick Mofina Page B

coordinated information on Mexican cartels and human smugglers.
    Gannon had an idea and took it to a quiet corner of the house. Up to now, he’d been useless in the search for his niece. Using his cell phone, he called Isabel Luna in Mexico. “Isabel Luna, El Heraldo .”
    â€œIt’s Jack Gannon.” He lowered his voice. “I’m in Arizona and I need your help but this is confidential. You can’t report any of this yet.”
    â€œOf course, Jack, we are working together.”
    â€œAn eleven-year-old girl has been kidnapped from her home in Phoenix, Arizona, by narcos. They claim a Phoenix businessman who runs a courier company stole fivemillion dollars from them and vanished. He has five days to surface and return the money.”
    â€œHas any of this been reported?”
    â€œNot a word yet, but you must keep this all confidential.”
    â€œWhy the secrecy?”
    â€œThe girl is my niece.”
    â€œYour niece? Do you know who took her?”
    â€œNo, my sister works for the man the kidnappers are trying to pressure.”
    â€œWhat can I do to help you, Jack?”
    â€œI need you to find out who might be responsible. Can you check with your sources in Juarez, see what you can dig up confidentially?”
    â€œI will at once.”
    Gannon ended the call and exhaled just as his phone rang.
    â€œJack, Melody in New York. Where are you and what do you have?”
    â€œI’m in Phoenix and we have a story.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œAn eleven-year-old girl has been kidnapped from her Phoenix home, likely tied to the theft of five million dollars from a cartel.”
    â€œI’ll put it on the next news budget. You write us a first hit. We’ll need it in about thirty minutes.”
    â€œNo. We can’t write anything yet.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œAlert our Phoenix bureau to expect a news conference with the FBI late in the day.”
    â€œNews conference? Isn’t this our exclusive?”
    â€œNo, it’s complicated.”
    â€œWe need exclusives, Jack.”
    â€œI know and this could lead to one. You have to trust me.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    Since he’d already told Isabel Luna, Gannon surrendered his information to the editor he trusted most.
    â€œThe girl who’s been kidnapped is the daughter of my estranged sister, Cora—my niece. I’m sorry, but it’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”
    â€œGood Lord. Is she okay?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAre you okay?”
    â€œI’m not sure.”
    â€œIs there anything we can do?”
    â€œThanks, I’ll let you know. Just trust me on this for now, please. I really have to go. I’ll call you when I know more.”
    Gannon scanned the house and saw Cora on the edge of a chair, being offered water and comfort by paramedics. They’d been monitoring her vital signs from the get-go.
    Watching her now, he battled his emotions.
    Am I scum? His sister had called him for help. Was he being a brother and an uncle, or was he being a reporter? Why did he feel a greater obligation to his job than to Cora? Because it didn’t feel like she was his sister. At times he felt that she was a stranger. Then there were warm flashes, when he’d recognized the same gentle spirit who’d guided him when he was a boy.
    His big sister, Cora.
    And he wondered what their lives would’ve been like had she not run off and devastated their family. But dwelling on it made him angry. His thoughts shifted when Cora indicated that she wanted to talk to him alone.
    The paramedics gave them privacy.
    Cora gripped his arm.
    Since this had happened, she hadn’t slept or eaten. Her eyes were reddened from tears. She pulled him closer. Her lower lip started trembling.
    â€œAm I being punished, Jack.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œFor my past. In the worst times of my life I had to do things to